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Letters .Patent No. 61,579, dated January 29, 1867.

turnovnn RILROAD RAIL.

TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

Be it known that I, JOHN B. TARR, of Chicago, in the county of Cook, and State of Illinois, have invented an improvement in Railroad Rails; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had tothe accompanying drawings, making a part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view of oneend of my improved rail,showing'a tenon formed on it.

Figure 2 'is a perspective view of one end of a rail' section which has arecess formed in it.

Figures 8 and 4 'are horizontal sections through the ends vof two rail sections.

Figure 5 is an end `view of the rail section which has a socket formed in it.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several gure's.

This invention relates to an improvement on 'railroad T-rails which are made solid, in contradistinction to the fr-rails which are made with holes through them. It also'relates to an improvement on railroad rails which.'

are united together at their'joints by means of4 tenons fitting into sockets and breaking joints with the ends of the rails. The invention further relates particularly to rails which are made of cas-t steel by a process of compressing theinetal while it is in the moulds, for the purpose of expelling air and rendering the metall mor dense and'tougher than by simple casting without pressure.

Therobject of my invention is to practically secure rail sections of solid railroad rails together at their joints by' means'of tenons fitting into sockets, by forming enlargements at theuends ofthe rails in such manner that they will aiord the requisite degree of strength to admit of the formation of tenons and sockets at the ends of the rail sections, as will be hereinafter described.

Another object of my invention is to produce tenons and sockets at the ends of railroad rails bya process of casting the rails, as will be hereinafter described. i l -To enable others skilled in the artto understand my invention, I will describeits construction land operation. Inthe accompanying drawingsfA represents one end of a rail section of a -shaped rail, which is con; structed with a tenon, b, projecting from its vertical face any required distance. A. represents one end of a T-rail, having a mortse or socket form-radin it of sucha .size and shape as will admit of the tenon b'tting snugly linto it and allow the vertical ends of the rails to be brought together. The object of this tenon-andisocket joint is to unite the sections of rails together, and prevent either an upward or downward vertical dis= placement or lateral thrust, and to dispense with splices, braces, or other supports, which render necessary the use of bolt fastenings, and other contrivances that weaken the rails at their joints. f

,In order to construct the tenon fastening herein described so that 'it will aiord the requisite.v strength, I find it necessary to enlarge the necks or webs of the rails at their joints or ends; this is done by the lateral swells c, which may be equal in width to the width of the frail base. Thse swells need not continue back fur thier than the length of the tenon and its socket. but I prefer to gradually reduce the swells, `as shown in the drawings, so that there shall'lbe a sufficient amount of metal to afford great strength. By thus swelling the if ends of the rails the tenons and their socketscan be made much wider than the webs of th rails.

For the sak'e of uniformity in construction an'd convenience in laying down the rails, I prefer to make each rail section with a tenon upon one end and a socket or recess inthe other; but it is obvious that thesame result would be secured in. practice were thetenons and sockets made upon alternate rails, the tenons being upon both ends of one rail and the sockets in both ends of the alternate rails.

I produce the railswith tenons and sockets'. by a process of casting cast steel inv moulds,the latter being adapted for forming the tenons and'lnortises; and while the metal is in a molten state in the moulds I subject it to pressure vsuiicientto expel the air from it and render it very tough and solid. This process of casting have fully set forth in 'a previous application for a patent. While I prefer Ato make my rails of cast steel, I do 'not desire to confine mynvention exclusively to a moulded or cast-metal rail, as solid rails, having the tenons and socketsmay be made of wroughtmetal, by means of the well-known process of rolling, the tenons and' sockets being subsequently produced by` swaging devices adapted to the purpose.

I am aware that hollow rails have been provided with tenons, by driving Wrought-iron bars into their ends, leaving a suiiicientlength projecting beyond the-ends of the rails to enter the hollovs or holes in the ends of other rail sections, thus forming tenon-and-socket junctions; but I am not aware that a solid rail section has -tl1eirvrai ls, substantially as described.

ever been made before my invention with a. tenon formed on its endl or ends, the tenon constituting a part of the metal of its milsection. In the case of hollow rails, the bars which constitute the tenons are: separate pieces, and will in time become loose; 'besides which the hollow spaces left in such mils are not of suicient size `to admit of the required thickness and strength of tenons being inserted into them; consequently outside auxiliary fastenings must be employed at the joints of such rails.

'Havingthus described `my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

Constructing solid railroad rail sections with' tenons formed on'one or both ends, whihnre adapted to fit into the ends of rail sections having sockets formed in them, said tenons constituting prt of the metal of JOHN B. TARR.

Witnesses:

P. E. MERBIBEW, W. EI MARES. 

